Traditional fish supper price set to increase as North Sea gets hotter and fish stocks decline

09:49, 14 Apr 2015

ByCharlie Gall

POPULAR picks such as haddock, plaice and lemon sole could become scarcer because of rising water temperatures blamed on global warming.

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The fish and chips at Cromars were exceptional

THE price of a traditional fish supper is set to soar as the North Sea gets hotter and fish stocks decline, scientists have warned.

Popular picks such as haddock, plaice and lemon sole could become scarcer because of rising water temperatures blamed on global warming.

Where chippy favourites haddock and cod once thrived in colder waters, sea bass, hake, red mullet and anchovies are now caught in greater numbers.

A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change reveals some species can only thrive in certain habitats and depths and are migrating to colder climes. In the last 40 years, the North Sea has warmed four times faster than the global average and further warming is predicted.

Researchers have combined long-term fisheries figures and climate projections from the Met Office to predict the abundance and distribution of the UK’s favourite fish over the next 50 years. The team, found that, as the North Sea warms, some species will shun it. Warmer seas will also reduce the size and quantity of the affected fish.

Researcher Louise Rutterford, of Exeter University, said: “Our study suggests that we will see proportionally less of some of the species we eat most.”

Colleague Dr Steve Simpson added: “We’ll see a real changing of the guard in the next few decades. Our models predict cold water species will be squeezed out, with warmer water fish likely to take their place. We need to move on from haddock and chips and look to southern Europe for our gastronomic inspiration.”

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He said: “If you speak to the fishermen, they’ll tell you that the fish in the North Sea are plentiful. What pushes prices up is if a species is becoming extinct but then you shouldn’t be catching those anyway.

“A fish supper remains good value when compared to an Indian takeaway.”

Aberdeen businessman John Low, owner of the Ashvale chip shop chain, charges £6.70 for a standard haddock supper. When he began in 1979, it was £1.60.

He said: “Over the last five to six years, fish has gradually gone up in price, not dramatically.

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“What the future holds, who knows? I’ve been doing this for 36 years and in the last 15 to 20 years we’ve had scares and worries but it’s never happened.”

Bertie Armstrong, of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “Global warming is a real concern for the Scottish fishing industry and it is vital that scientific research on its impact continues.”